Cash and jewellery worth R1-million were stolen from a Hemingways Mall jewellery store on Friday night during a carefully executed robbery involving at least two gunmen.
The incident took place at 6.30pm as employees of the American Swiss jewellery store on the upper level were preparing to close.
The store was manned by two employees at the time, while two mall security guards were stationed close by.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Nkosikho Mzuku said two armed suspects entered the shop and pointed firearms at the staff.
“The suspects fled the scene with cash, airtime and valuable jewellery.
“The matter is under investigation, and no arrests have been made as yet,” he said.
The two men had earlier entered the mall through Entrance 6 and headed straight to the store, where they posed as customers wanting to have a watch fixed.
Hemingways Mall’s general manager, Janice Coopoosamy, said the men had entered the American Swiss store, where one showed his firearm and demanded money and jewellery.
The suspects were apparently in the store for about 10 minutes before fleeing the scene
“No one was harmed during the incident. Once the men had exited the mall, the tenant alerted our security team, who in turn immediately alerted the police,” Coopoosamy said.
It was not clear what mode of transport the men had fled in.
Detectives extracted fingerprints at the store on Friday night.
This was not the first robbery at the store.
In December last year, two men armed with a toy gun entered the premises as it was about to open for business at 9am.
They forced three employees into a back room and ordered a woman employee to open the safe.
They also removed jewellery from display cabinets.
The robbers left the toy gun behind and then fled the scene.
They are still at large.
Coopoosamy said the safety and well-being of patrons was of top priority.
“Early this year, Hemingways Mall increased its external patrol vehicles from one to three adding another patrol car and one quad bike.
“The purpose of these vehicles is to continuously patrol the mall environment seeking out any suspicious behaviour,” said Coopoosamy.
She said the latest incident was handled with utmost care and professionalism by mall security.
A leading South African crime expert, Dr Johan Burger, who is a senior researcher in the Governance, Crime and Justice Division at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said mall robberies had increased by 140% in the last three years.
“The statistics come from the Consumer Goods Council, as police do not categorise robberies.
“For jewellery stores to reduce the risk of being robbed they need to put safety measures in place like limiting access to the store , making use of cash protection boxes and not having much valuable goods on display,” he said.
Anyone with information that could assist the police in their investigation can contact Constable Pumla Mphalala on (043)709-7500. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
R1m worth of jewellery, cash stolen
The incident took place at 6.30pm as employees of the American Swiss jewellery store on the upper level were preparing to close.
The store was manned by two employees at the time, while two mall security guards were stationed close by.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Nkosikho Mzuku said two armed suspects entered the shop and pointed firearms at the staff.
“The suspects fled the scene with cash, airtime and valuable jewellery.
“The matter is under investigation, and no arrests have been made as yet,” he said.
The two men had earlier entered the mall through Entrance 6 and headed straight to the store, where they posed as customers wanting to have a watch fixed.
Hemingways Mall’s general manager, Janice Coopoosamy, said the men had entered the American Swiss store, where one showed his firearm and demanded money and jewellery.
The suspects were apparently in the store for about 10 minutes before fleeing the scene
“No one was harmed during the incident. Once the men had exited the mall, the tenant alerted our security team, who in turn immediately alerted the police,” Coopoosamy said.
It was not clear what mode of transport the men had fled in.
Detectives extracted fingerprints at the store on Friday night.
This was not the first robbery at the store.
In December last year, two men armed with a toy gun entered the premises as it was about to open for business at 9am.
They forced three employees into a back room and ordered a woman employee to open the safe.
They also removed jewellery from display cabinets.
The robbers left the toy gun behind and then fled the scene.
They are still at large.
Coopoosamy said the safety and well-being of patrons was of top priority.
“Early this year, Hemingways Mall increased its external patrol vehicles from one to three adding another patrol car and one quad bike.
“The purpose of these vehicles is to continuously patrol the mall environment seeking out any suspicious behaviour,” said Coopoosamy.
She said the latest incident was handled with utmost care and professionalism by mall security.
A leading South African crime expert, Dr Johan Burger, who is a senior researcher in the Governance, Crime and Justice Division at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said mall robberies had increased by 140% in the last three years.
“The statistics come from the Consumer Goods Council, as police do not categorise robberies.
“For jewellery stores to reduce the risk of being robbed they need to put safety measures in place like limiting access to the store , making use of cash protection boxes and not having much valuable goods on display,” he said.
Anyone with information that could assist the police in their investigation can contact Constable Pumla Mphalala on (043)709-7500. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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